They were all represented. Sky, the BBC, ITV, Channel 4 and Channel 5. And not just national reporters but local reporters as well. Crane was well aware that local Aldershot residents would see this press conference twice tonight. Once on the national news programme and again on the local news. See his bumbling display. He hadn’t wanted to come over too military, which he thought would have seemed curt and unfeeling to the viewers. But he quickly realised that curt and unfeeling was his normal working mode and when he tried to become softer, more human, it just didn’t work. As a result, Anderson and the press officer had fielded most of the many questions and demands and Crane kept his mouth shut for the remainder of the conference.
He wasn’t sure if their eager questions were out of concern for the poor parents and for the missing child, or their excitement at such a large news story after a pretty dry news summer. The only other news at the moment was the Party Political Conferences and the television companies probably couldn’t believe their luck having such an emotive story to counter balance the dry political news.
The one question they all wanted answering was - when can we interview the parents? They were all desperate to have the sobbing couple degrade themselves on the news programmes. ‘It’s what our viewers want’ they had apparently said to the press officer when making the request. Well, Crane and Anderson were determined to keep the Wainwrights off the television if they could manage it. Plus, they didn’t want anything upsetting the drugs deal, which still hadn’t been completed.
At a nod from the press officer, Crane and Anderson stood and walked out of the room, through a handily located door just to their right, the reporter’s questions still following them, until they closed the door and shut them out.
Kerry
Kerry had had to do quite a big shop a couple of days ago. Not wanting to be seen around North Camp for a while, she had gone to the big Asda in Farnborough. It was far more impersonal in there. She’d got lost in the crowds and blended in with all the other harassed shoppers. She had also taken a taxi there and back, to save having to talk to anyone on the bus. The missing baby seemed to be everyone’s topic of conversation and Kerry heard snatches of words. Heard how awful it was. Heard people wondering where Tyler was. Heard mothers telling other mothers that they were too scared to leave their child alone. They wouldn’t do it. Not for an instant. Asking how the mother could have done such a thing? Fancy going into a shop and leaving the baby alone outside? Some people linked it to other child snatches. Madeline McCann was on some people’s lips. And so the people gossiped away; around the fruit and veg; while squeezing the bread to test it for freshness; while waiting in the queues to pay for their shopping. Kerry had heard similar snippets of conversation when she’d had reason to leave the flat and passed her neighbours on the landing or those congregating around the entrance doors on the ground floor.
But one talked to her. She was still seemingly invisible to most people, her thin waif-like appearance making her small and insignificant, perhaps. Ignoring those around her, as they ignored her, Kerry got on with her shopping.
A real live baby had different needs from the two Mollies, Kerry had quickly realised. She’d had to buy more formula (as Tyler had used up what she’d had left over from Molly) and some jars of baby food (Tyler just wasn’t satisfied with only a bottle of milk). Luckily she still had the steriliser. And she had to get disposable nappies, of course. Kerry needed to eat something herself as well. She hadn’t really bothered much with food since Molly had died. Not even the arrival of Molly #1 and Molly #2 had managed to ignite an interest in food. But with Tyler around, she was using more energy, so needed food for fuel. A few ready meals kept in the freezer would do the trick.
She’d spent quite a bit of money and when she got home, had managed to get all her bags in the lift with the help of the kind taxi driver. But she’d had to do a few trips back and forth along the landing before all the shopping was safely in the flat. Alan was worried about the amount of money she must have spent. He’d asked if she really needed to buy so much. But she’d happily told him not to be worried, as she still had quite a lot of the money she’d been given by the Army when he was killed. So there was no reason for him to worry about anything like that at all, it was all taken care of, courtesy of Her Majesty’s Government.
Tyler had grown a lot since Kerry had last seen her with Julie and she was minded to crawl all over the flat and put just about everything she could reach into her mouth. That morning, Kerry had left Molly #1 on the settee, while she went to get her a change of clothes and returned to find Tyler sucking on Molly’s toes.
“Look what she’s doing,” Julie called to Alan and they all had a good laugh at Tyler’s antics. After Kerry had finished changing Molly #1 and put her in the high chair, Tyler pulled herself up by the chair legs and grabbed Molly’s feet, clearly wanting to put them in her mouth again. Kerry took her away and put her back on the carpet, but then Tyler thought it was great fun to push Molly #2 around the room in her bouncing chair. It was so nice to see how much Tyler loved the Mollies and wanted to touch them and play with them all the time.
Kerry was tired after the morning’s activities (it was much harder looking after three children rather than one baby) and was glad to put Tyler down for her afternoon nap, wanting to spend a bit of time with Alan. Just the two of them. So she put the Mollies in the cot with Tyler, and soon all three of them were fast asleep.
“Come and look at them, Alan,” she called and after Alan hobbled his way into the bedroom, they looked down at their three children in the cot. Proud parents at last.
24
This morning on Breakfast. Our reporter Jane Fullerton is in North Camp where a baby was recently snatched in broad daylight. Local residents, police and Army are combing the area in organised searches. We’ll be joining Jane at 7.15am for the latest news.
Julie drifted from room to room, with a pile of clothes in her hand that she should be putting away. But she couldn’t remember where they went. Putting them down on her bed, she turned and looked in the mirror at her reflection, but didn’t recognise the person looking back at her. The person still dressed in pyjamas, with greasy hair, sunken eyes and chewed lips.
She went down the stairs and took the vacuum out of the cupboard to sweep the carpets, but after looking at it and unable to figure out what she was supposed to do with it, she returned it to its place in the cupboard. She went into the living room and sat on the settee. She turned the television on, then off a few minutes later, unable to concentrate on the inane banal programmes.
She walked back up the stairs and stopped outside Tyler’s room. It still had that wonderful baby smell, but the scent was fading fast and with it her hope that her child would be found. Leaning against the door frame she wondered if Tyler missed her mother, as much as her mother missed Tyler.
The weather seemed to be clearing as she looked out of the window. A few lighter clouds were visible as the underlying grey layer broke apart in places. She was desperate to escape the morose feeling that the recent rain had induced in her. It had rattled on the roof for hours without a break, making her depression worse. It emphasised her aloneness, as she wandered around the house without a purpose. So as the rain had stopped, Julie went back into her bedroom. She pulled on some clothes that were in a pile on the floor and rattled downstairs. She grabbed her raincoat from the hooks near the front door, intending to go out. Immediately the family liaison police officer appeared.
“Julie? Are you alright?”
“Yes thank you,” Julie said as firmly as she could, but she was unable to stop the waver in her voice. After clearing her throat, she tried again. “I’m fine, I just want a bit of fresh air.”
“Oh good, I’ll come as well,” the woman said. “Just wait while I get my coat.”
“Please don’t. I want to go out on my own.”
“But…”
“I’ll be perfectly alright. You better stay here in case there’s any news.”
Julie grabbed her handbag and ran outside to the car. She wanted to be alone. The police officer was smothering her with her well-meaning platitudes and updates from the police every day that never said anything other than: ‘the enquiry is progressing’. Progressing where? Progressing how? Basically there was never any news. They were no nearer to finding her baby.
She reached the car. Finding it unlocked as she clambered in, she threw her handbag on the passenger seat, started the car with the key that was already in the ignition and drove away. Fleeing a house that was so empty since Tyler had been snatched. Bob was never there either. Claiming pressure of work that meant he had to be in his Barracks most of the time. But she knew why he went to work. The real reason. It was because he couldn’t face what was happening at home. Couldn’t face her. Her depression, loneliness and despair.
She was pretty certain Bob didn’t feel the same as she did about the loss of Tyler. It didn’t seem to have made much of an impression on his emotions. But then nothing did anymore. Since Tyler was born, he’d retreated into himself. Instead of putting his new born child first, he’d put himself first, thereby making sure Tyler had very little impact on his life.
Julie decided to go to the woodland at the top of Farnborough, hoping for sunshine and bird song to soothe her battered psyche. She’d known no peace since Tyler had been snatched. She not only blamed herself, but she knew Bob blamed her as well. In fact, Padre Symmonds was the only person who hadn’t blamed her. He’d tried to tell her that it wasn’t her fault. Wasn’t because of anything she’d done or not done. Told her that the blame lay with the person who had snatched Tyler. But she didn’t believe him. After all she was the one who had left Tyler outside the shop, while she was buying pasties of all things! She’d never eaten that pasty. She didn’t think she’d ever be able to eat a pasty again.
She left the Garrison and was driving up the dual carriageway towards Tesco when the rain started again, the deluge making her realise she was in trouble. Realise that she had badly misjudged the weather. Once again the ferocity of the rain was relentless, falling from a sky filled with angry clouds that were so low she felt she could touch them.
She slowed down as the road rapidly filled with water, the drains unable to cope with the sudden return of the storm. Driving became impossible as great rivers of water lay in wait to catch out unwitting motorists. The wipers, frantic in their attempt to push the rain from the windscreen, did nothing to help clear the rain streaked view of the road, which was faint and wavering in the eerie half-light. Cars tiptoed past on the other side of the dual carriageway, their pale faced drivers just visible as they hunched over the steering wheel.
Unable to see where she was going, Julie stopped the car in the middle of the road. It wasn’t even possible to pull into the kerb which was awash with water. The rain threw itself at her car and as the storm intensified so did the noise. Her car and her head were filled with it and she became trapped in its clutches. Trapped inside the car with her thoughts. Thoughts of her baby, her husband and illegal drugs. She screamed and screamed and screamed in a vain effort to make them go away.
***
Kim had also badly misjudged the weather, thinking she could quickly walk into Aldershot during a break in the rain. She was waiting to cross the dual carriageway at the pedestrian crossing hoping the lights would turn red and stop the traffic, when the rain came down. She quickly put up her umbrella, but the rain was so hard, it was barely any use. She looked down to see the water on the road rising and threatening to over flow onto the pavement. Her trainers and jeans were of little use against the rain and both were already sopping wet. As she lifted her head to see if she could walk across the road yet, a car stopped by the crossing. Which was strange as the traffic lights were still green. Looking more closely Kim realised the driver was Julie Wainwright and that she was screaming uncontrollably.
Kim reacted without thinking. She pulled open the driver’s door and squatted down so her face was level with Julie’s, keeping her umbrella up to try and shield them both from the rain.
“Julie,” she shouted. But when that got no reaction, she shook Julie’s shoulder, which seemed to do the trick. Julie stopped screaming and looked blankly at her.
“Julie,” she shouted over the rain. “I’m Kim Symmonds, the Padre’s wife. Here scoot over into the passenger seat and I’ll take you home.”
Pushing Julie into complying, Kim clambered into the car. Her wet jeans clung to her legs and her trainers squelched as she pressed the pedals.
Kim covered the short distance to the Wainwright’s house in a few minutes, frantic to get Julie home out of the cascading rain. Kim glanced to her left, to see Julie shivering uncontrollably and moaning softly. Her dark hair was dyed blacker by the rain and the water dripping from it mingled with her tears. The poor woman was in such distress, Kim considered taking her straight to hospital, but feared it would take too long to get to Frimley Park Hospital. Home was best. Once there she could get Julie dry and into a warm bed and then call out a doctor. Pulling up onto the Wainwright’s drive, she ran around the car and pulled open the passenger door, helping Julie out. Together they stumbled to the front door, which was thrown open by the policewoman.
“Oh, thank God, you’ve found her,” she said. “I put out a call to the patrol cars when the storm started in the hope they’d find her and bring her home.”
They bundled Julie up the stairs, where they stripped off her soaking clothes and wrapped her in a towelling bathrobe before putting her to bed. Julie was still shaking and moaning as the policewoman left the room to call an ambulance.
“It’s all my fault,” Julie whispered to Kim, grabbing at her arm. “All my fault. I should never have left her alone. Where’s my baby? Why can’t anyone find my baby?” Kim had no answer for her, so did the best she could, stroking Julie’s still damp hair and making soothing noises while she waited for help to arrive.
Self Esteem
Kerry wished Alan was a bit more help around the house and with the children. To be honest she was getting a bit pissed off with him just sitting in his chair all day. She’d also like a bit more time to herself. Being a mother was fulfilling, of course it was and never let anyone say that she was a bad mother, but today she was really exhausted and could do with some help.
She’d just completed the morning routine, getting the two Mollies up and about, changing and feeding Tyler and she was sitting limply on the settee, surfing the television channels to find something to watch.
She knew she looked rough today. She’d seen Alan’s look. The one he used to give her when he was alive. The ‘I think you could make a bit more of your appearance’ look. He had a look for everything. There was the ‘oh, so you haven’t done the housework yet’ look and the ‘shouldn’t you have made the beds by now’ look.
She tried to smooth down her completely untameable red hair. She knew she should go to the hairdressers, but she just never seemed to have the time, or the energy. She seemed to be on the go 24/7. Picking up her mug of coffee she saw her nails were broken and some of them were cracked. Putting the coffee back down on the floor, she rubbed her hands together and just as she suspected, the sides of her fingers were rough to the touch, all dry and split and the skin on the backs of her hands was sore.
She looked down at her dress which had white bleach spots on it and the slippers on her feet were falling to pieces. No wonder Alan was signalling his disapproval. She was a complete wreck. Well, if he wanted her to do something with herself, he’d just have to pull his weight.
Looking over, she saw he was sat there in his chair. Molly #2 was in the highchair and Molly #1 the bouncing chair. She thought she’d give them a change of scenery this morning and had swapped them over. Tyler was sitting in the playpen surrounded by some toys and was happily chewing on a teething ring.
Here was her opportunity, she decided. If he wanted her to do something with herself, he’d just have to help. She jumped off the se
ttee and went over to him, climbing on his knee and kissing his face. She had to be careful where she kissed him and took care to avoid the bits of cheek that had been flayed off by the IED.
“I was just wondering, Alan, if you could do me a favour?” she asked, squirming around to get comfortable. One of his thigh bones was poking through the skin and had pierced his trousers, so she put her weight on the other leg so as not to hurt him or herself.
He seemed happy with her attention, so she continued, “I really need to go the hairdresser’s Alan. I just can’t manage my hair anymore. It’s all over the place. So,” she said coyly, “I was wondering if you’d mind the children for me. Just for an hour. I could pop up to the local salon. I’m sure they’ll fit me in. After all I want to look my best for you.”
Alan smiled by way of reply, so she took that as a yes, grabbed her coat and bag and skipped out of the apartment before he could change his mind.
***
The salon was empty when Kerry arrived and the staff fell on her eagerly when she said she wanted a wash, cut and blow dry. They even persuaded her to have her nails sorted out. Kerry drew the line at false nails, so the manicurist said she would make them all the same length, buff them and put a light polish on.
Kerry felt like a model, as one woman attended to her hair and another her nails, both at the same time.
“So, do you live around here?” the hairdresser asked, whose name was Jude, according to her name badge.
A Soldier's Honour Box Set 2 (Sgt Major Crane crime thrillers Box Set) Page 34
